Ganiel's message
by HuntressDiana
Summary: Daine knows where she belongs now; Tortall is her home. So why are these dreams of the past trying to tell her differently? They are dragging her away from Corus and her friends; Onua, the Lioness, Numair and Cloud.
1. Ganiel's message

**Ganiel's message.**

**                                                By HuntressDiana**

**Well, now I may have a little more time on my hands now Princess of the Rogue is ended. Seeing as people seem to want me to write more and to give you all a Daine story, I thought I would do both at the same time. So here it is. **

**My other Daine story, 'Call of the Wild' is ended now. It was a one shot and I don't see any way at the moment that I could continue it. However I have plenty of other ideas. The one thing I don't have as much as I would like to have, is time. I would like nothing better to write all my ideas into the epic length that some of my stories are and more will grow into. So that will remain as it is, a one shot for now. **

**As for a Protector of the Small story, well I am only human.  I have an idea, but I need more than that really.**

**Disclaimer; Daine, Numair, Cloud, Onua, Jonathon, Thayet, Alanna, George, Brokefang, Dunlath and anything else you may recognise from the Immortals quartet belongs to Tamora Pierce. However, the rest belongs to me. **

**This plot is mine! I have had experiences of plagiarism before and I honestly could live without it again. Taking this plot without asking me, copying any of my text, changing it to fit another story, this is illegal, both in the real world and in the internet. I will find out, or someone will tell me and you will be punished. **

**I have no real problems with someone borrowing a small idea such as Daine having dreams of her past, indeed I will count that as a flattery that you enjoyed this so much that you wanted to use it in your own story. Give me credit though, saying this inspired you, as people have before, and there will be no problems. Anything more than that though, and I will report you.**

**Summary****; Daine knows where she belongs now; Tortall is her home. So why are these dreams of the past trying to tell her differently? They are dragging her away from Corus and her friends; Onua, the Lioness, Numair and Cloud.**


	2. Chapter One, Nightmares

**Chapter One; Nightmare.**

****

Verilidaine Sarrasri sat bolt upright in her bed, the sheets pooling around her waist. Her breath came in ragged gasps as her chest heaved in an effort to draw in enough air. The shirt she had slept in that night was soaked with sweat and she could feel tears dripping down her cheeks. The bed linen was soaked. 

A small, warm body pushed its was under her right arm, it was one of the palace cats. She had come in to Daine's room sometime during the night and settled herself comfortably beside her on the bed.

"I'm fine now." Daine reassured her worried friend. "I just had a bad nightmare.

_'Nightmare?' _inquired the cat with all the confidence and arrogance of her kind, now assured that the two legger who was people inside was calmer _'What is that?'_

"A picture inside your head." She struggled to explain, "That moves and frightens you." 

_'A very silly thing to have.'_

"It's not something we choose to do." Daine rose from her bed and walked over to her window. It was always open so that the people could come and go easily. A nightingale came and perched on her window sill. She went through the same process of explaining to the bird why she was upset and awake in the early hours of the morning.

_'Well, if you aren't going to sleep anymore, would you like to come and see my nest?' _

It was mating season, in the middle of May and the woods would be lovely at night, and Softwing was very eager to show her his new chicks. 

With a quick nod at the small brown bird, Daine pulled on her breeches beneath her night shirt. She didn't bother with boots; the outside floor was soft with grass and last fall's leaves. With a sigh she pulled her bow and quiver onto her back. Ever since Daine had arrived in Tortall along with Onua Chamtong, horsemistress to the Queen's riders, rarely did a week pass without her seeing some sort of immortal. Likelihood would be that any she saw tonight would not be peaceful ones, more likely that they would be Stormwings. 

She pulled her necklace around to the front, it had an awkward habit of falling over her shoulders and resting on her back when she slept, making it uncomfortable when she rolled over. The claw of her mentor, the badger now hung on its leather thong heavy on her breastbone. Its weight was reassuring, while she wore it she knew that the temperamental badger could find her wherever she was in the Eastern Lands.

She crept along the dark corridor. She lived in the Rider barracks near the stables. They had just received a new group of trainees, about the same age as Daine, some a little older. They were all exhausted, both boys and girls, after Sarge and Buri had made them perform various exercises under their watchful eyes. Any slacking or cutting of corners would result in a bellow from the huge man and extra laps around the field while the horses looked on in amusement. As she passed the red and yellow doors she halted, checking that she hadn't disturbed the trainees.

When she left the wooden barracks, she followed the nightingale across the training fields, calling greetings to the horses that were awake and racing against those that cantered alongside her. This was her first night back at the barracks; she and Onua had gone to Cría in Galla, her homeland, to buy more ponies for the rider trainees. That might have been the reason for her nightmares she supposed, visiting her homeland, even if it was a good five days walk from the village where she had grown up, Snowsdale in the mountains. Some of the ponies she had known and brought back before she had visited Fief Dunlath with her friend Numair Samalin the mage, uncovering the treasonous plot against the crown, greeted her enthusiastically and she promised to return to play with them after seeing Softwing's nest. 

The nightingale landed upon a branch as Daine left the herd behind her..

_'Come Wing-sister!'_ He cried _' My mate is waiting for us higher up!' _

Softwing flew up to a high branch where Daine could hear him greeting his mate joyfully. She began to look for a convenient way up to the nest. She had already placed her foot on a knot in the trunk and begun to pull herself up when she decided she would try a shape change again. The last time she had tried changing her shape to that of another animal; specifically a wolf, had been when she was hunting Lady Yolane of Dunlath down with Brokefang and the rest of the pack. Her hands and feet had ached for days afterwards, from all the running she had done. Her body had hurt as well, because the skeleton of a wolf, according to her wondrous book Numair, who taught her to control her Wild magic, had given her, was very different to that of a human girl. The number of legs for one thing. But Numair had explained that the pain would lessen with time and practise, as she became used to it. So she shed her outer garments, after looked around in the still night, to check that it was as empty of humans as she had thought it. Left only in a thin shirt that she had slept in and her loincloth, Daine leant back against the trunk of the tree, closed her eyes and began imagining and focusing on what being a nightingale was like.

She saw in her mind the brown and white wings and body of the small bird. She calmed her mind and slowed her breathing as she slipped into meditation and she imagined soaring high over the palace. She opened her eyes as her stomach felt like it was falling from the top of Balor's needle, the highest point of the palace. She saw everything around her grow rapidly as she shrunk. Daine glanced at her arms only to see them sprout feathers and to feel her bones splitting and reforming inside her new wings. In a few moments, Daine hopped out of one of her shirt sleeves and leapt into the air, flying as though she was born to it, if a little awkwardly. She swerved to avoid a branch and pumped her wings hard to climb up to the level of Softwing's nest. When she alighted upon the branch, she was tired and her shoulder muscles ached.

_'Finally!' _Softwing reproved. _'You took your time wing sister.'_

_'I'm sorry.' _Daine apologised _'I'm not used to shape changing yet.'_

_'Well, you look better anyway, less like a two legger.'_

_'I am a two legger!'_ She laughed, although it came out of her beak as more of a chirrup

_'Hmmmm.' _The bird changed the subject, _' Was it a hard flight for you?' _He asked.

_'A little, but that was my first flight in control of the body.' _The girl / nightingale explained. She had flown before, in the body of Huntsong the eagle, in the Long Lake, but she had only been a passenger. She had learned the basic skills of flight though; speed up, slow down, stop and turn.

_'It is quite steep. But it stops any cuckoos or squirrels coming to harm our young.' _ The nightingale pointed out. _'My mate, Songtrill, is waiting for us.' _He led Daine along the branch in a series of small hops, talking all the time. She quickly decided that nightingales were as bad as foxes for their constant chatter. Daine saw the neat nest in the junction of two limbs of the tree. As she approached it, the bought began to sway beneath her, she stopped moving, reasoning that the wind would soon pass. But it didn't. The branch continued to shake beneath her and Softwing didn't seem to take any notice. Carefully, she began sidling along the wood, trying to reach the trunk before she was blown off, Softwing turned to face her,

_'Are you all right Wing sister?' _He asked, anxiously.

_'I am fine Wing brother.' _She replied, trying to hold on and reassure him at the same time _'It is just the high wind.'_

_'What wind?' _He wanted to know. _'It is a still night.' _It wasn't until then that she realised that barely a leaf was moving. That revelation was enough to make her start, a particularly violent swing of the branch threw her off.

and then

She struggled to fly, beating her wings frantically, before realising that all her feathers were gone, and her arms were useless for flying. 

"Oh gods darn..." She hit the ground, and then knew no more.

You know, I am evil. The first chapter and already I am giving you cliffhangers. Well, sort of. Anyway… like? Let me know!!


	3. Chapter Two, Worries

**Chapter Two; Worries.**

****

 When Daine opened her eyes she found herself in a mass of horses. Cloud, the mare that had been with Daine ever since she was a foal, nuzzled her face anxiously, whinnying softly. 

"What...?" Her mouth was dry and she suddenly realised, as she tried to sit up, that every muscle in her body hurt. She wet her lips slightly, and Cloud backed away, "_What happened?" _She asked the herd in mind speak, as she was unable to talk properly.

_'You fell from the tree.' _The grey mare said, sending most of the herd further off, along with reassurances from Daine that she was fine, _' You have no horse sense at all.' _Cloud snorted

"I should think not!" Daine retorted fiercely, pushing herself into a more comfortable position, off the worst of the tree roots. " I am a two legger after all."

_'You are People enough not to want to go and climb up into the trees when you don't belong!' _She was rebuked strongly. 

Before she could argue against the unfairness of that comment, she saw Onua, the horse mistress of the Queen's riders, closely followed by Numair, the mage, running up to her. They were led by a black stallion with brown socks and blaze, named Thunder for his heavy tread, closely followed by his mate, a tiny dun mare, who Daine recognised as one of her friend Miri's mounts, Longmane.

"What happened Daine?" The older woman fell to her knees beside the fallen girl, mirrored by the man on her other side. Expertly she ran her hands over Daine's arms and leg, checking for any broken or fractured bones. With a worried frown, she gestured at her torso. Numair bent over her, his dark hair, almost black, falling forward over his face, his dark eyes serious and worried and his lips pursed thoughtfully.

Daine felt a sharp pain in the left side of her chest as a rib popped back into place. She gasped slightly, then Numair set back.

"Only a couple of broken ribs. What happened Magelet?" He helped her to her feet and she studied her two human friends. They had obviously both been pulled out of bed, both wore their night shirts tucked into a pair of breeches and Onua was barefoot.

"I fell." She stated.

Onua rolled her eyes, 

"Why were you up in the tree in the first place?" She asked 

"I was seeing a nest." The girl explained, "I shape shifted again..."

"How did it go?" Numair interrupted to ask, his eyes lighting up. He was fiendishly interested in the differences between the shape shifting normal mages could do and that which Daine did. Onua shook her head; she knew that when Numair got started on a topic like that he would not rest for days until he knew what he wanted to.

"Why did you fall?" She interrupted,

"I don't know." Daine shrugged, "I felt like there was a strong wind but Softwing, the nightingale, said there was no wind at all. It was like the tree was trying to throw me off."

"Hmmm." Numair looked thoughtful. "I have no idea why that happened. Was it like that last time you shifted?"

"No, nothing like that happened at all." She grimaced slightly, "I just had sore hands and feet for days." They began to walk to the palace, Daine moving a little stiffly, while Numair questioned her.

"Gods bless it Numair!" She burst out, "I don't know what happened! I had a nightmare so I went outside for some air with Softwing. I lost my shape as I fell."

"But somehow managed to get back into your clothes." Onua added.

Daine stopped slightly at that, she didn't understand how that happened. Usually she had to take a spare set of clothes and change into them after she became her human self once more.

"I don't know." She said slowly. 

"Well," Numair stroked her hair gently, "Get some more rest then Magelet, you've had a busy night and I don't suppose you slept a lot." The two adults left her at the door to her small bedroom, with promises that they did not intend to keep, that they would wake her up at breakfast time.

They however, did not plan to sleep any more, it was drawing close to dawn now, and they both woke at that time anyway. Instead, by mutual agreement they climbed the stairs to Numair's rooms. 

"A nightmare she said." Onua spoke as soon as the door was closed behind them. "She was tossing and turning all the way from Galla. I doubt she has had more than two hours sleep a night."

"Did she see anyone or anything to remind her of her old village." Numair set a kettle on the hearth, and, with a quick flick of his hand, lit the fire beneath it "What was it called? Snow.... Snow something." His forehead creased as he struggled to recall the name.

"Snowsdale." Onua said, after a bit of a struggle herself, "I don't think so. She seemed fine when we were there, a bit nervous, but that's to be expected after returning to her homeland after two years away."

"I suppose her subconscious may have realised that she was far closer to Snowsdale than she actually knew and that triggered nightmares." Onua nodded, understanding the gist of what he had said.

"Can we do anything to help?" She asked,

"Try and get her to talk about it, I suppose, you should do that, or ask Alanna to."

"She's in Pirate's Swoop with George." She reminded him, "But she's coming along to the palace with him and the children for a while. They want to see Daine again."

"That might cheer her up a bit. If she still doesn't sleep well, then I can make her a potion to force her body to ignore what her brain is telling her."

A bell rang, quickly followed by Sarge's shout, as the ex slave woke the male Rider trainees up, Buri too could be heard beneath his bellow, waking up the girls.

As Onua declined her friend's offer of tea, and left him to his thoughts.

Daine had been through a lot in her short life, her own village had hunted her after her mother and grandfather had been murdered by bandits. She had left her home and come to Tortall with Onua as assistant horse mistress, here she had discovered her Wild magic, along with his help and was still being trained in its use.  And now she was reliving one of the worst times of her life. 

Numair jumped violently, spilling his tea over himself as a frantic whistle and clicks came to his ears. Kitten, the dragonet Daine had guardianship of, stood on the table before him. He had been so deep in thought he hadn't heard her unlock his door using her own special brand of magic

"What is it Kitten?" She was too young to have mastered human speech, but whenever the need was great she could make herself understood.  Clearly she was highly agitated and wanted him to follow her.

He did so, running behind her along the palace's narrow corridors. He crashed through a few pages and squires who were on their way to the stables, and called an apology over his shoulder, but did not stop.

Kitten led him back to the Rider's barracks, and then to Daine's room. He tried to open the door, knocking on it loudly and calling her name at the top of his voice. Eventually, finding it was locked, he summoned his Gift and blasted the door open.

He took in the whole room at a single glance. Animals stood, sat, or perched on any space available. All their attention was focused on the girl in the bed in the middle of the room. She was thrashing around wildly, her hair a matted mess. Her sheet and blanket had been partially thrown off the bed and the rest was entangled around her legs. 

Numair ignored for the moment, that she wore only a loincloth and her shirt, she had obviously just removed her boots and breeches before falling into bed. He hurried over to her side and freed her legs from their confinement. That just allowed her to roll over more, he looped the material over his arm, and in the instant she paused to allow her starved lungs take in a breath, he flung it over Daine's body, just leaving her head free. He shook her shoulders, trying to rouse her. She was obviously in the throes of another nightmare, and this one was reluctant to leave her be. He grasped her chin firmly, and touched his other hand to her temple, allowing it to act as a conduit for his magic. Slowly his consciousness slipped into hers and her saw her dream as blurry, formless images. He could feel the hatred bearing down on him from those faceless shapes, they were screaming at him, and although he could not understand the words, the feelings behind them were only too clear.

Looking down, her saw Daine, curled up into a protective ball beside him. He bent down, keeping a careful eye upon the advancing masses, as a rule dream figures were unable to touch those who were awake, but these figures held so much malicious feelings, he wasn't sure if they could break free of the control that was loosely placed upon them. 

"Daine! Verilidaine Sarrasri!" He gripped her shoulders and pulled her upright, "Look at me!" She flailed around in his grasp, until he forced her to look at him. "Its me. I am not here to hurt you, Magelet, come back!"

"Numair?" She breathed slightly, as she heard his voice. "No, it isn't!" She pounded on his chest futilely, "Let me go."

"Magelet. Look at me, I am not here to hurt you." She looked up at him, fear evident in her clear blue grey eyes. He brushed a wayward strand of her smoky brown hair from her face. "It is me."

"Numair." She fell against his chest, "I..."

"We need to go Daine, this is your nightmare, and only you can get out of it."

"How do I do that?" She asked, trusting him.

"Focus on waking up. That's all you have to do. Pretend you are coming out of meditation." 

With a nod, she closed her eyes, slowing her breathing and emptying her mind. As her breathing calmed and returned to its usual rate, the menacing figures approaching the pair slowed down. Her eyes flicked open suddenly, and Numair found himself propelled out of her dream abruptly. 

He staggered back from the bed, as Daine stirred and her eyes opened.

"Numair?" She asked, "What are you doing here? Is it breakfast time already?"

**See. No cliffhanger here!! ******


	4. Chapter Three, Potions

**Chapter Three, Potions. **

Numair sat back in relief. His desk was piled high with papers and bottles or jars. A fire burned in the grate, as he pulled himself out of his chair to stir the pot that hung over it. This potion took hours to brew, and he was not sure even if it would do what he intended. Daine's nightmares needed to be stopped, and soon, before she collapsed from exhaustion. What worried the tall mage more however, was the fact that she only remembered one of her many nightmares. 

Onua Chamtong, one of his closest friends for years, ever since he had come to Corus in fact, and had been found doing player work, had said that the girl had been dreaming all the way back from Cria, in Galla. 

She didn't even realise what had happened when Numair had been in her dream that morning. He had got her out of the dream and she had woken up, not knowing why he was in her room. With a sigh, he distilled the potion again, it would be enough for the week. Only a small amount was needed to be fully potent and stop her from having these dreams for a week. He would brew some more later, when he was rested. Now, the question was, how would he convince her to take the draught, when she couldn't remember that there was anything wrong with her?

Daine stood in the middle of the field, calling out to any rider trainees who had problems with their tack. These new youths were soon learning to respect her, as she talked to their mounts and they soon found that, if they didn't listen to her commands, their mount would refuse to move. Some would even find themselves flying through the air if the pony stopped a little too eagerly. The other trainers had also learned to see the signals that Daine was talking to a horse and that something was wrong with one of them. A few of the mares had developed a habit of walking around in tight circles if they knew something was wrong, until the person on their backs would become so dizzy that they would loosen the reins. 

Buriram Tourakom was a K'mir, like Onua and although she had a less open face, she had become a friend to Daine, and she loved her horses. Sarge was an ex slave, a huge black man who had come to Corus as a manual worker at the stables and had worked his way up quickly. He had a huge bellow and a sly sense of humour.

As Daine stood there, she noticed Numair striding across the field, his hair unusually unkempt. He held something close to his chest, then beckoned Onua over to the fence and showed it to her. She nodded at something he had said and the two conferred for a while. As the mage noticed Daine was watching them, he spoke once more to the horsemistress, then waved at her, grinning broadly. The object he carried, which she now realised was a vial or bottle of some sort, disappeared into his belt purse. 

By the time she had got over there the two of them were innocently discussing the pending arrival of the King's champion and her family. She was easily distracted by the conversation, as she too was excited. To her, a simple country girl from a Gallan village, Alanna was a heroine equal to those of legend. She was one of the reasons Daine had come to Tortall so willingly with Onua.  

If the King of the country had helped the Lioness win her shield and then made her his champion, then the rest of the country might ignore the fact that Daine herself was a bastard child who never knew her father. 

But she had also found that Alanna was human, she laughed, smiled, loved and joked. And she cried too. 

When Alanna was last at the palace Daine had inadvertently bumped into her as she sat at the grave of her brother, and the small plaque in the chamber of the Black God that bore his name, and the name of the Shang Dragon, Liam Ironarm. She had been crying gently, as Daine wandered around, running her fingers across the names of the dead, wondering what their stories were. Both had been so quiet neither had known of the other's presence. It wasn't until Daine had turned a corner and nearly fallen over the older woman that they noticed each other. Luckily Alanna had seen the humour of the situation, even as Daine had began to stutter an apology. 

Numair waving a hand in front of her face brought Daine out of her memories.

"I'm going back up to the palace now, do you want to come with me?" He asked,

"Go on," Onua nodded her head, "It'll do you good to have an afternoon off. Even if this lot don't."

The girl bade her friends, both human and people goodbye, before clambering over the fence and following the mage.

"Are you hungry Daine?" He asked.

"A little." She admitted. He looked her over with a critical eye

"You still don't eat enough."

The girl groaned, this was a conversation she had with him and Onua often. 

"I eat plenty! Just acos..."

"Because." Numair corrected her absentmindedly,

"Just because," She dutifully repeated, "I don't eat as much as Miri or Evin," She named her two rider friends who seemed to eat whenever the was food around, "That doesn't mean I'm not healthy!"

"Let's go to the kitchens then. We can find some sustenance in there, I am sure."

When they came into the kitchens, Numair was treated with great awe, and trays bearing mugs of juice, bread, cold meats and cheese were quickly made up for them and shoved into their hands.

"Shall we eat these in my room Magelet?"

"Prob'ly be a good idea, no point sitting in the mess hall alone." Daine agreed.

"Shall we have a lesson up there then?"

Daine nodded, there was so much Numair had to teach her about her friends, and she was eager to gobble up any information she could get her hands on. 

"Shall I get my book?"

"Yes, Put your food in my room then go and get it." She nodded and slipped into his room before he did. She wove expertly, with the air of one who had done this many times before, between the piles of books that littered the floor around the doorway. Balancing the tray against her hip, she shifted the objects on the lone table to the floor, then placed her food down. She smirked up at him as he too came across the floor gracefully.

"Point taken Daine, I need to clear this up."

She nodded and moved to the door, lightly jumping over a stack of glass cups, after a few seconds she poked her head back into the room,

"You really do! My ma would have had a fit if I had left my room like this. It's like Onua says, the powerfuller the mage, the more scatter brained he is!" She ducked back out, so the pillow Numair threw at her missed. It didn't help her much though, as Numair's magic kept it afloat and chasing her.

"That's cheating!" She cried, before he let her go. 

When he was sure that she was leaving, Numair stood, and uncorked the bottle of potion he had made earlier and slipped a bit into her spiced juice. Hopefully the cinnamon in there would conceal the taste from her.

When she arrived back in the room, he was innocently flicking through another book of his. He put it down when she came in and laid her 'wondrous' book, as she called it, on the table before them.

"What do you want to study today then?" He asked. 

Her nose wrinkled slightly as she thought, flicking through her mental catalogue of the People.

"Bears." She said decisively. "The dogs were saying that one was around."

"Good." He flicked to the appropriate page in her book. "Bears are carnivores and come in several species...."

Daine sighed happily and took a bite of cheese then took a deep draught from her juice.

There- no cliffhanger! Alanna will be arriving in the next chapter. This will be canon Alanna, from the books. And for references sake, this story takes place just after Wolf Speaker.

**HuntressDiana**


	5. Chapter Four, Trouble

Chapter four; Trouble.  
  
For those who didn't understand my last author's note, 'canon' Alanna means she is the character from the books, her life happened like the SotL quartet, with few alterations, if any, from me! The opposite is 'fanon' Alanna, like my version in 'Princess of the Rogue' and of course the sequel; 'Lady Storm'.  
  
I hope that helps.  
  
  
  
When Daine woke the next morning, it was to a horde of disgruntled animals slinking out of the half open door and window. Numair stood there, a hand planted firmly over his eyes and he knocked furiously on the door with his free hands.  
  
"Gods bless it Numair!" She exclaimed, stifling a yawn with the back of her hand as she stretched. "It can't be much after midnight." She slipped out of bed, regretting it for a moment as the chill night air hit her body.  
  
"It's not." She could tell he was smirking, even under his large hand covering his face.  
  
"You can look, I'm decent."  
  
He peeked through his fingers, then moved his hand away entirely when he saw she was wearing breeches and a half done up shirt, and her back was to him.  
  
"What's the matter?"  
  
"Hurroks. And some other, unidentified form of immortal."  
  
"That's fair rude, attacking this time of morning." She moaned, even as she slipped on her boots, both she and Numair had become accustomed to being called away on short notice.  
  
"Kit?" She called over her shoulder. "Are you coming with us?"  
  
A trill answered her from under the bedcovers. The dragon was obviously happier in the warm, instead of gallivanting off to fight immortals.  
  
  
  
"Very well." Daine drew the door shut behind her with a heel, even as she pulled her hair back from her face and secured it there with a couple of clips.  
  
"How did you sleep last night Magelet?"  
  
"Fine thank you." She answered, "I wish it'd have been longer though." She noticed the satisfied smile that crept across his full lips, and was about to ask what put it there, when Alanna, the Lioness and King's Champion came up to them, in full leather armour.  
  
"Come on you two! Enough dawdling. I arrived at the palace late last night and the next morning I'm already out to fight."  
  
"Lioness!" Daine cried happily. "You're here!"  
  
"I am." The lady knight agreed, "We've a five mile ride so we can talk then. Meanwhile..." She jerked her head towards the north. "Can we get going?"  
  
  
  
Darkmoon, Alanna's steed stood outside, and when he saw Daine he pulled away from the boy holding him to greet her.  
  
"Hello you lovely." She rubbed his ears as he nosed her chest and took an apple from her pocket.  
  
"That." said Numair rebuking to the horse. "Was her breakfast." Aside to Daine he added, "It is a good thing I know what these animals are like when you're around." He slipped another apple deep into her pocket and firmly buttoned the pouch.  
  
Alanna pulled herself up into the saddle and set her shield up firmly behind her, on the side of his saddle. The red field, emblazoned with her symbol of a rearing lioness was well known and struck fear into many rogues' hearts.  
  
"Come on then!" She called.  
  
Daine and Numair mounted, the girl sitting comfortably astride her mare, Cloud, whilst the mage was nowhere near so easy in the saddle.  
  
'We need to go quite fast Spots.' Daine addressed her teacher's mount 'And he is fair nervous and sleepy, Mithros knows why. Don't let him fall.'  
  
'I try!' The large horse explained, 'but he is so nervous, if I even canter he jumps from shock and then falls off.'  
  
'I know. But please do try.'  
  
'I will.' The long suffering animal said, 'As long as you ask him not to do anymore magic on my back, it's very off putting.'  
  
'I'll do that'. She agreed.  
  
"Numair! Hold on to the reins properly," She chided, "Spots says he will try really hard not to let you fall off. I'll warn you when he's going to speed up."  
  
'And I'll warn you.' She said silently to Spots 'When he's about to fall off. You can give him a good start then to wake him up.'  
  
Both horse and girl laughed, the wicked smile on her face and the way Spots was shifting, made Numair even more nervous.  
  
"What did you tell him?" He demanded.  
  
"Nothing." Daine's wide eyes stared up at him, looking so innocent, Numair couldn't say anything else. When she laughed and moved up the line to talk to Raoul of Goldenlake's Drum, he said aside to Alanna who had been watching with great amusement.  
  
"I hate this talent she has sometimes. I'm never sure if she's telling them to look after me, or to throw me."  
  
Alanna laughed.  
  
"That's half the fun of it!" She too left him, riding to the head of the column to get everyone moving.  
  
"For you may be!" he called, and then muttered to himself as Spots shifted once more, "It's not as fun for me!"  
  
  
  
They rode steadily for half an hour; Alanna explained the situation to Daine and Numair, as best as she knew it. The Hurroks had not actually attacked any villages in that area, but they had killed a charcoal burner and his family in the woods nearby. The sole survivor of that attack, a man called Lehir Huntsman, had seen another type of immortal. This one had slithered along the ground, with seemingly no legs, and it was blind. Like snakes, with whom it seemed to have a kinship, it sensed its prey by heat. They knew nothing more than that about it, and so Numair and Daine were going to take care of those immortals, maybe two or three of them, while Alanna took the other five warriors to deal with the Hurroks.  
  
  
  
When they parted, the two followed the directions given to them by Lehir. They had to dismount soon after entering the wood, as the branches were very low and there was no real track to lead them. Instead they followed the beaten path to the Charcoal burner's cottage.  
  
"Any sign?" Daine asked.  
  
"Not that I can find." Numair replied, "Wait here, while I go and see if there are any in the hut."  
  
Daine nodded and as he left, she scouted around the hut, trying to find tracks. Numair soon rejoined her, shaking his head, the scene inside the hut hadn't been nice. Blood was spattered all up the walls and although the dead bodies had been removed, it was still ghastly.  
  
"Can you sense them anywhere nearby?" the mage asked.  
  
Daine concentrated for a second, then suddenly opened her eyes and pointed to the west.  
  
"The birds say they are that way." The pair left Cloud and Spots buy the hut and walked towards the clearing Daine's informants were directing them to on foot. Before they got too close, Daine strung her crossbow. It was a present from last Midwinter, from Alanna the Lioness. It was a beautiful weapon, or as beautiful as a tool of death could be. It was ebony wood, carved with shapes of animals. One of the children of the village had done that, the Baron of Pirate's Swoop, and Alanna's husband George Cooper had told her, and Daine prized it even more for that fact. The engravings had been cunningly highlighted by twists of silver wire. The bolts she used sparingly and only ever on immortals like these. The rest of the time she used ordinary fletched quarrels. These bolts were black as well, and incredibly sharp. The  
  
metal of the bow and bolts was brilliant silver and engraved on the stave was her name 'Verilidaine Sarrasri' and a message from the Lioness, that Hakim, one of the soldiers of the King's Own, had said the night they had met. 'Your  
  
ancestors are proud.' For a bastard, orphan child, those words had lifted her heart and her pride.  
  
  
  
Numair had a belt knife, but more importantly, and his main weapon, was the ball of black fire, laced with silver that gathered around his hands and arms. Daine shivered slightly. Sometimes it was hard to see her gentle, kindly teacher and friend in the most powerful mage in Tortall.  
  
He glanced over at her, and nodded, resting a large hand on her shoulder for a brief second.  
  
"Are you ready?"  
  
She nodded.  
  
"Then let's go!"  
  
They dived into the clearing, weapons at the ready.  
  
  
  
He he he he he cliffy!!!!!!  
  
HuntressDiana 


	6. Chapter Five, Sliders

**Chapter Five; Sliders.**

**I have one more day of freedom, then it's back to work! **

**Sorry for the delay in updating. I've been working on the Tortallian Heroes Awards. If you go to ing at them. They were huge, as tall as Numair and as thick as a tree trunk. **

"Numair?" Daine hissed. "Any idea what these are?"

"I've not a clue I'm afraid Magelet."

"Great! So we have no idea what they are going to do to us next?"

"Not a one."

The largest one fell onto its belly. Previously they had been upright, resting on a coil supported by their tail outstretched behind them. They moved fast towards the pair, slithering along the ground.

Daine lifted the crossbow to her shoulder and sent a quarrel flying into the leader's right eye socket. A horrible wail filled the air and she resisted the impulse to clap her hands to her ears to protect her hearing. She had never heard such a sound before, it was like metal scraping down a rock surface, but amplified until she could feel her bones shaking from the sound.

Numair did have his hands over his ears and he shouted a word, gesturing with one hand towards the immortals. Whatever he threw at them hit the one Daine had wounded first and it stopped its screeching. When she saw its face she sucked in air between her teeth harshly, both its eyes were gone. One socket still had her arrow protruding from it and deep green blood was oozing from the wound. She saw the other side of its face as it swung its head from side to side, searching for them. That eye was covered with a white sheen; it was now blind. 

A wind was whipping around them, freeing her hair from its confines and making it fly around her face. She risked a glance at the mage,

"This your doing?" She yelled. The wind was rising so hard that she, being light, was having a hard time standing upright. Numair didn't hear her so she yelled again, louder, whilst keeping her eyes firmly fixed on the immortals. They too were having problems; the smallest were lying still in a heap, having been thrown into a tree. 

She clutched his arm as she felt the wind pick up again. Without even looking at her, Numair hooked an arm around her shoulders and pulled her tight against his side. From there she was anchored to the ground, the wind wasn't powerful enough to blow them both away. 

"NUMAIR!" She yelled, rising up on her toes to try and make him hear her. "Is this your wind?"

"Yes!" He called back, forced to yell even though their faces were not even a foot apart. 

She peered out into the clearing. Slowly she made out three figures still standing upright, the two on the ground seemed to be dead.

"Numair!" she called. "Let the wind go! I can't shoot in this wind."

He nodded and let the wind falter and die. Daine was ready instantly, her crossbow was primed and she shot at the nearest one. The bolt punched through its body and pinned it to the ground, thrashing as it tried to get free. Another fell as a ball of fire from Numair enveloped its head. That left only one, the leader. It reared high above them, taller even than Numair, who was above six feet in height. Daine drew her belt knife and slashed at its underbelly, it was too close now for shooting. Green blood spurted from the wound she had dealt it and sprayed across the two fighters. Daine closed her eyes and her mouth and moved the blade blindly, slashing once more at its belly. That horrible scream came once more and Daine moved back, giving into the urge to cover her ears.

When she was out of the thing's range, she felt Numair steady her with a hand on her shoulder, and she opened her eyes in time to see the creature's death throes. Turning away, she heard Numair say something and then silence fell behind her.

"Is it dead?"

"It's dead." 

She turned back around, and took in the scene that lay before her. Green blood had stained the dirt in the clearing and she saw, looking down at herself, it had stained her clothes and Numair's as well. The five immortals lay before them. 

Cautiously, crossbow primed, she approached. The smell was terrible. She kicked one with her booted foot and jumped back as the skin sloughed off at her touch.

"Numair. If you want to examine these things I'd do it now. They're rotting away like no tomorrow."

The mage came over and stood beside her. 

"I see what you mean." Together they kicked over the body of the nearest one, wincing at the smell and the touch of the thing. Numair cupped a handkerchief over his nose and leant down. After a few seconds examining the thing he stood and moved over to the next one. 

"Daine, come and look at this one!" He called.

"Must I?" She groaned, walking over all the same. He pointed out a wound in the eye socket, which had collapsed. 

"Where did that come from?"

"My bolt o'course." She said, "I shot him in the eye."

"So why do all of them have the same wound?" They spilt up, checking all of the Immortals. 

"That they do." Daine said, confused. "The leader was the biggest one, the one nearest me when it died." They inspected the leader and found that all the wounds it had received had been inflicted on the others as well.

"I don't know about you Magelet, but something doesn't seem right here, why would they all be wounded when their leader was?"

"I have no clue." The girl said. Then she turned her head, and Numair recognised the distant look that came over his student's face whenever she was talking to one of her animal friends.

"The Lioness's coming. And they've killed the Hurroks. All the People are saying so."

"Let us go meet them then Daine." He picked up her bow and handed it to her. "We need to get a picture of these Immortals and a description of them down while we still have them fresh in our minds."

She sighed; the two of them had been kept on the move pretty much every day since they had returned from Dunlath. They had worn through about two sets of riding gear each in the last three months. The saddles had remained whole, but the stirrups had frays, as had the reins. Daine's pommel needed constant re upholstering and re stitching with the amount of birds that landed on it. The longest time they had been in Corus was only a week, and that had been before this mission. Before that, they had often only stayed for a day or two, collecting new supplies and having a much needed rest before riding off to the next group of troublesome immortals. The King, Jonathan, tried his best to relieve them of some duties, but as the only Wild mage in the country, and the one of the strongest mages in the eastern lands, they were the only ones who could deal with this sort of trouble. So they were sent across the land. In these last few months, Daine had seen more varying terrains and met more people than she had done previously in her fourteen, nearly fifteen, years. 

But she wouldn't complain; coming to Tortall had been the best choice she'd ever made. After losing her ma and grandda back in Snowsdale, she'd found a new family here; The King and Queen, Alanna, Onua, Numair. She loved it here, loved the people but what if she could go back? 

If she could return to where she was born, with her ma not dead? Would she? Could she? Daine shook her head slightly and forcibly turned her thoughts away from that direction. But a sense of unease and nostalgia lingered in the back of her mind.


	7. Chapter Six, Talk and Dreams

**Chapter Six; Talk and Dreams.**

****

"Is something wrong Daine?" Alanna pushed her way through the undergrowth until she came to the place where the girl sat, absentmindedly stroking the head of a fox. The animal growled at the Lady Knight and tensed slightly.

"Hush." Daine chided. "She's one of my friends."

_'She smells of claw winged horses,' _He said, although he did relax a bit and stopped glaring at her _'And blood.'_

Daine looked up, and true enough, Alanna bore a small wound across her cheek, and another on her shoulder.

The older woman noticed her sharp eyes traversing her body and laughed.

"I'm fine, one of the Hurroks caught me as it flew past, but Hakim killed it."

She looked around the grove where she stood, and breathed in the fresh air, free from the stagnant fumes of human dwellings. It was summertime and fruits were growing on the tree above her head. She reached up to one of the laden branches and felt among the apples hanging there for two that were ripe. 

She found a couple and threw one to Daine, who bit into it, enjoying it's sour flavour, although it made her screw her face up slightly. The fox let out a sharp bark and Alanna plucked another from the bough and threw it at him. Neatly, he jumped straight up in the air and caught it.

Daine laughed as, after one bite, he knocked it away and ran over to the nearby stream to rinse the taste from his mouth.

"It can't have been that bad." Alanna called after the creature, amused. She too took a bite and winced. "On second thoughts, I agree with your small friend." She too moved over to the stream and pulled a horn from her belt to use as a cup. She brought the water back over to where Daine was sitting, and, waving her hand over the water to check it was pure, took a deep draught before offering it to the girl.

"Daine, what is wrong? I've known you long enough to see that you're disturbed. What is it that is making you fret so?"

"I don't know exactly." Daine sighed and stared at her feet. "I just keep thinking about home, my old home," She amended, "Back in Galla."

"Snowsdale was it?" Alanna asked, at Daine's nod she said softly. "That's perfectly natural to think about your home. Your mother died not that long ago and it is normal to think about it."

"But I never thought about it this much before."

"Well." Alanna leant back on her hands, stretching her legs out before her. "It hurts most at the beginning, right after the event. Then, gradually, the pain begins to leave a bit at a time and you can think about it with out feeling so bad."

"But I don't want to forget!" She burst out, "If I forget how they died, then I forget my Ma and Grandda."

"You'll never forget them." Alanna said firmly, "But it is only human nature to block out hurtful memories. It'll leave your other memories of them intact, I assure you." She glanced over at Daine's tense face. "I felt the same after the Shang Dragon, Liam Ironarm died, and my brother Thom died.

"I felt that if I couldn't remember in clear detail how each of them died then I would be offending their memories, so I put myself through pain every so often, when the memory began to grow dim, and I would force myself to relive that memory, although  it caused my great pain.

"I wasn't actually there when Liam died, so I had to get Jon to help me, and George of course, I made them relieve it as well, although it made Jon feel guilty, because Liam took the arrows meant for him." She sighed. "And then I realised that I was hurting more people I cared about by doing that. I was hurting myself and my friends, and neither Liam nor Thom would have wanted that. So I let them go. It took a while, but I can think back on the good times now, without the sting of guilt that accompanied them before."

"Were you and the Dragon close though?" Daine asked.

"Yes, we were. We had been… lovers." Alanna said, blushing slightly, "but we were just friends when he died."

"So why…" Daine stopped.

"Why what?" Alanna prompted

"Why do I want to go back there?" 

Alanna shrugged. 

"I can't tell you that. Maybe you should find the answers in yourself." 

The pair sat in silence for a while until Alanna spoke again,

"Are you coming with us on Training? The trainees leave in a month or so."

"Where are they training this time? The Swoop?"

"Gods no, we're still recovering from the last time. Port Caynn I think. You'll have to ask Thayet or Buri."

"I will."  As the knight got up to leave Daine to her thoughts she caught her calloused palm. "Thank you Alanna."

The smile cast down upon her was gentle.

"Any time youngling, anytime."

Daine slipped into her bed roll later that night, after sitting by the stream until the midnight bell was sounded. One of the guards noticed her as she slipped into camp, but he recognised her and nodded her through.

Her friend the fox followed her and settled down on her feet as she lay under a large tree, occasionally catching a glimpse of the stars through the thick leaves.

Eventually she fell asleep, and then she dreamed.

_The wind whipped through the house, a golden haired woman, stood at the stove shivering and stirring a pot._

_"Verilidaine!__ You get yourself down them stairs this second!"_

_A young girl came tumbling down the stairs, followed by two huge dogs. _

_"Yes Ma?" Her brown curls were in disarray under her headscarf and the dogs' fur was ruffled up._

_"You been playing with them again? Daine, I've told you you're getting too old for that. You're twelve now, need to be thinking of other things." _

_Daine pulled a face, she knew what was coming next, and mouthed along as her mother spoke._

_"You've got to be respectable, not like me, otherwise none'll have you."_

_"O'course Ma."___

_Her mother sighed, Daine was so much like her at that age, if more headstrong._

_"Go stop your Grandda going up that ladder will you love?" _

_"He's up there again?" Daine ran towards the door, worried for the old man. "I told 'im I'd druther do it than for him to go topplin' down that ladder."_

_She took an armful of hay from the stack by the door and ran into the wind,_

_"Grandda!__ You get down from there right now!"_

_The old man looked down and smiled as he saw his granddaughter standing there, her hands on her hip. "You come down, or I'll send the falcons up after you. You know I'll do it!"_

_"Aye that I do."__ He came down the ladder cautiously. When his feet were firmly on the ground Daine began her tirade. _

_"You could've fallen."_

_He looked confused._

_"What're you talking about gal?" He stepped away from her "I did fall. And you didn't catch me."_

_"Grandda?"__ Daine took a step towards him but he jumped away from her, his face twisted in a grimace of loathing._

_"Keep away from me bastard! Ruined my Sarra's life you did,"_

_"Eh, he's right about that." Daine whirled to see her ma standing behind her. _

_"Ma?__ What d'you mean?"_

_"Well, if it weren't for you I could've been married by now, and happy. Instead I got saddled with you." Sarra wiped her wet hands on a dishcloth. _

_With a sob Daine sprang away from the two of them, but tripped over pitchfork and fell on her back. Groaning as she hit the ground she rolled onto her back, only to have excruciating pain roar through her as something sharp went into her stomach._

_Daine choked as she felt the pitchfork pin her into the ground. Then it was pulled out and her Grandda handed the bloodied tool over to her Ma._

_"Your turn my dear."_

_Daine screamed as it sank into her again. Then all went red and black._

And she awoke.


	8. Chapter seven, City of the Gods

**Chapter seven; City of the Gods.**

When Daine awoke, she found herself lying on a wide stretch of wood that bumped along slowly. She was wrapped tightly in a thick blanket and as she wriggled out of her cocoon she caught a glimpse of the sky. It was getting dark, and she could see the sun setting behind the horizon. 

_Why are we travelling so late?_ She wondered, usually they stopped moving about an hour before now and would have pitched camp. Voices came to her ears as she realised she had been lying in the supply wagon. A covered mug of water was securely placed between two boxes of supplies and Daine picked it up, washing a sour taste out of her mouth. It was cloying though, and was still there, in the back of her throat when she had drunk all the water. 

She pushed past all the boxes and made her way to the front of the cart. 

She recognised the man sitting there, guiding the horse instantly.

"Evin!" He jumped, not expecting her to come from behind him and one of the cart wheels went into a ditch, making the poor horse start and try to rear in the shafts.

Instinctively her mind went out to the animal and tried to calm it. But the horse didn't seem to listen to her as well as the others did. Eventually, soothing it gently, Daine managed to settle it and then sat down next to Evin, who had recovered from his shock, with a frown on her face.

"What is going on?" she burst out after a while.

The Rider smiled at her easily, 

"You took sick a day ago. Numair and Alanna have been worried frantic." He let go of the reins for a moment, putting two fingers in his mouth and letting out a piercing whistle. At once, half the riders ahead turned to look at the wagon. Daine caught sight of the Lioness riding, in a studded jerkin, at the front. She raised her hand, in acknowledgement, and sounded a blast on her horn. She then pulled Darkmoon off to the side of the group and watched it go by. Just before the wagon reached her position a large black hawk swooped down from the sky and landed neatly on the top of the wagon. 

"Your clothes are in there." Alanna said clearly. With a squawk, the bird hopped into the back of the cart. Daine caught sight of the bird shifting into Numair and averted her eyes. A few minutes later, he emerged, doing up his shirt. 

"How are you feeling Daine?" he asked, looking intently into her face.

"Fine," she answered. "I'm a little confused though. What happened?"

Alanna answered for him,

"So you remember that night we talked in the wood? About an hour or so after I left you, the guards on duty heard a scream and we went to investigate. You were lying there, in that clearing again, on the floor, with some sort of mist all around you. Numair had to come to get rid of it."

The mage picked up the story from there. 

"Whatever it was, it was of immortal origin, and when I finally got rid of it, you were writhing around on the ground and you were clutching your stomach. It looked as if you were dreaming."

"I was." She said slowly, trying to recall what had happened. "But I went to sleep in the camp. How did I get into the woods." 

Alanna and Numair exchanged glances. 

"We were hoping you could tell us. Daine, there was something I didn't mention. It looked like you had shapeshifted."

"Why…?" Daine blushed as she realised what Alanna meant, she had been lying naked in the woods, only covered by a mist. _Great, She thought, _Just what I needed. Sleep shape shifting. _"I don't remember doing that though." _

"That's what I was afraid of Magelet." Numair looked serious and worried, "We tried to wake you, but you wouldn't wake at all, it's been days since then, and we're heading towards the North, towards Dunlath."

"Why Dunlath? Are we going to see the Pack?" She looked excited. 

"City of the Gods." Alanna said shortly, "We think it's a magically induced illness. My Gift can do nothing against it, and I'm a Healer, as you know."

Daine paled slightly, as Evin pulled the wagon over into a clearing, where they were obviously planning to camp that night. Alanna was a really strong Healer, and if she wouldn't cure her… 

Numair, seeing her worried expression, took her hand. 

"It'll be fine Magelet. We just don't want to take any chances with you."

"So you're taking two Rider groups and one of the Kings Own to the City of the Gods?"

She asked.

"No, we sent the third company back, and only one Rider group is going with us all the way." Alanna reassured her, "I'm glad you're awake, Daine, we were all getting worried about you." The Lioness then rode into the camp, Evin following her on foot, leaving Daine and Numair in the wagon. 

"I was really asleep for that long?" She asked, wonderingly. 

"You were." He confirmed. "What were you dreaming about?"

"Ma. And Grandda." She said shortly. 

"Do you want to tell me about it?" 

She sighed, knowing it would be better if she did. If what was happening to her was magical, then she needed to tell him anything that could help them understand what was happening to her. 

"It was sort of a memory. It was when I was twelve, a couple of months before the bandits came." She paused, pushing her emotions aside, and recalling all the details. "I was telling Grandda to get down from the roof. He'd always go up there, he druther do that himself, he thought it was the man's job, than let me do it. But I used to be so afraid he'd fall I'd send Halcon's falcons up there, so he had to come down. And he'd come down and moan at me, but he wouldn't mean it. But in the dream… he said he fell, and I wasn't there to catch him. I let him down and I ruined Ma's life. If it weren't for me, she could've got married. But no one really wanted a woman, saddled with a bastard child like me." 

A tear began to roll down her cheek, and she savagely wiped it away. She had managed to push that thought into the back of her mind recently but the dream had brought all the pain and agony back to her.

"Magelet, that wasn't real. You said it yourself. It was a dream, and it managed to twist your memory somehow. I'm sure your Mother and Grandfather are proud of you, wherever they are." He kissed the top of her head. "I know I am."


	9. Chapter Eight, Troubled past

**Chapter Eight; Troubled past**

**Well, here I am, finally updating this story!**

****

Daine looked at the City of the Gods as they approached. Numair rode Spots on one side, and Alanna and Darkmoon were on the other. They both chuckled at the girl's look of astonishment.

"I've never seen so many temples in my life before." She said wonderingly, "let alone all in one place."

"That's one reason why it's called City of the Gods, Magelet." Numair said, his amusement clearly showing in his voice.

Although the City itself was very plain, all stone buildings without much colour or shape, the temples stood out starkly. They had decorated roofs and some had a statue before them. Alanna kept up a running commentary of what they passed after they came through the gates.

"That's the Temple of the Great Mother Goddess to your right. Mithras' temple is opposite." She inclined her head to each and Daine's gaze followed the motion, although Corus had its fair share of temples, she had never seen anything like these temples before. "Up that road is the Convent." The Lioness pretended to shiver, "Every time I see that place I thank the Gods I escaped from it. And here is what we came for, the University."

Alanna fell silent and bowed slightly as they approached the great doors. Slightly confused, Daine sent a quizzical look towards her teacher, who spoke in her ear softly.

"Alanna's brother, Lord Thom studied here for many years before he died."

She nodded in understanding, recalling the conversation she and Alanna had had by the banks of the river a few nights past.

"Do you think they will know what is happening to me?" She asked as they dismounted and gave their horses to the care of a young initiate.

"We hope so." Alanna answered, before giving their names and their business to a steward. "They are the most learned mages in Tortall."

"And their healer is renowned for his studies of rare magical diseases." Numair added.

The steward returned, and bowed.

"Master Hareth will see you. He is teaching currently, but the class ends very soon. I am to show you to his study, and you can await him there."

Without waiting for a reply he turned and led the way into the depths of the building. Alanna and Numair followed at once, Daine following behind more cautiously. She had been into the academic buildings in Corus, but never before had she been in one so grand. The wall hangings showed scenes from the history of Tortall, the earlier ones she noticed had immortals upon them.

"Daine!" Numair called, she looked away from the tapestries and saw that they were entering a room. Quickly she hurried down the hall way.

"Sorry, I was just…"

The mage simply nodded and pushed her into the room.

Master Hareth's study was almost bare, with the exception of a desk and some chairs. The window was wide open and Daine relaxed a little as she heard several birds land on the roof. A couple of bolder birds; starlings, landed on the window sill and the mage waved his hand that them absentmindedly, not noticing that as soon as he turned back around that they perched again.

Master Hareth was in his late forties, older than both the Champion and Numair. He sat down lightly and indicated that they should do the same. When Daine was seated he leaned forward over his desk and peered at her closely, making her shift uncomfortably away from their piercing gaze.

"Verilidaine Sarrasri?" He asked suddenly

"Yes, sir." She replied, uneasily.

"And what is wrong with you young lady?" His eyes never moved from hers and she felt an ache beginning at the front of her mind. She lifted a hand and rubbed her forehead, while answering,

"I don't know Sir, Numair and Alanna tell me I'm having dreams and sleepwalking, but I can't remember many of those dreams."

"And the ones you do remember, what are they?" He prodded,

"Of my past mostly."

The ache had turned into a stabbing needle into her brain and she jumped out of her chair, looking around at her teacher and the King's Champion for aid, before collapsing on a heap in the floor.

Numair and Alanna both jumped out of their seats to catch her, as Master Hareth stood more slowly.

They looked up at him, Numair cradling the girl close to his chest, Alanna's violet eyes glaring at him.

"Don't look at me that way." He rebuked her, "You know as well as I did what had to be done. I had to search her mind, to see how much she knows. It was possible that she could be suppressing these dreams if the memories are too painful for her, I have seen it happen before." He moved around the desk and indicated that Numair should pick up the prone girl and follow him.

"And?" Alanna asked him "Is she?"

"No. She knows nothing of what is happening to her, and the only dreams she can recall are, as far as I could make out, twisted memories."

He had lead the way to a larger room, on the upper floor of the monastery. As they had passed by other rooms, orange robed Mithran students had peered out at the strange procession.

"Lay her down on that bed." The mage said.

Numair did as he was bid,

"How long will she be unconscious?" He asked anxiously.

"An hour at the most." The older man held up a hand to still his exclamation. "The rest will do her a world of good anyway. The poor child is quite exhausted."

The adults both looked guilty.

"Now, you did the right thing to bring her here to me, but before I can even begin to imagine what has happened to her, for this is no mortal illness, it was put upon her by another being, I must know more of this Wild Magic you tell me she has."

The mage sat down by her bedside, waiting. Haltingly Numair explained the kinship his student had with animals, pointing to the worried starlings who had followed them to the infirmary, to emphasise his point.

"Extraordinary." Hareth said. "No wonder she is so weary, and she has a troubled past indeed. Now, I must ask you to leave. Healer or no, you must also leave Lady Alanna, I need to be able to concentrate to help your young friend. You can both wait in the hall."

Alanna and Numair were out in the hall and the door had shut in their faces before they could object. Numair sank onto a chair to wait, looking at the door, with a worried expression on his face, while Alanna leaned against the wall. Both waiting uneasily for news of Daine.


End file.
